Small victories are a win for Calderon
TEXT OF STORY
Scott Jagow: It’s been a year now since Felipe Calderon became the president of Mexico. Remember how contentious that election was? Might’ve been worse than Bush-Gore. Calderon’s opponent accused him of stealing the election. There were huge protests in the streets. There was even a brawl in Congress.
But a year is a long time, and my, have things changed. From our America’s Desk at WLRN, Dan Grech reports.
Dan Grech: When President Calderon took power, Mexico’s deadlocked Congress hadn’t passed a single major piece of legislation in nearly a decade.
Everyone expected more political paralysis. Instead, Calderon passed much-needed reforms of the federal pension and tax systems.
Jeffrey Davidow: They were not giant victories, but they were useful ones.
Jeffrey Davidow is a former U.S. Ambassador to Mexico, and now heads the Institute of the Americas:
Davidow: So although the changes that Calderon got through were not really big deals, the fact that there has been some change, some forward momentum, has been well received by the financial and business communities.
The next item on Calderon’s agenda may be his toughest: Opening the state-run energy sector to foreign investment. Right now, that’s forbidden by the Mexican constitution.
I’m Dan Grech for Marketplace.
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